


This Isn't Goodbye, It's Good Night

by MattedZamo



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Masturbation, but brief sorry, there was supposed to be smut but author got sawft, with pops of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MattedZamo/pseuds/MattedZamo
Summary: It's the night before Team Avatar heads out to confront Kuvira at the front lines of Republic City, and Korra spends her time with Lin.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Korra
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	This Isn't Goodbye, It's Good Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first (and probably only) fic for this fandom!   
> This was really fun to write and I enjoyed it a lot, so I hope those who get to read this enjoy it too!   
> Apologies for any plot lines confusion, this is supposed to take place during the jump cut between Korra announcing that she would head to confront Kuvira after she announced she would be taking Republic City by any means necessary!

When Korra first saw Lin, or  _ Chief Beifong _ as she  _ had _ to be called, she was enamored, to say the least, and to say the most would take her as long as it took for the Avatar cycle to go from the Avatar Wan to her. She wanted to spend as much time as she could close to her, if not to get to know her then at least to get to be near her, to study her, to understand her by how she is from her actions rather than what she says. Luckily for her and  _ certainly  _ even more so for Tenzin, the Avatar being in Republic City meant that Lin had to spend more time with Tenzin getting answers for the newest misstep the Avatar did, and therefore, Korra did get to spend more time with her.

It’s not like it helped much.

Lin’s appearance matched her personality, she was clipped in tone and had a wall to protect her that worked just as well _ if not better _ than the suit of armor that she wore on the daily. It never ceased to amaze Korra how every time she saw Lin, her mind wandered to if she wore other outfits besides her uniform, what were they, and what did they look like on her body; if she preferred tighter fitting clothing or looser ones.

They didn’t have much, if anything, in common, except perhaps their relationship with Tenzin and their duty to Republic City, but even those were held at opposite ends of the spectrum. Where Korra’s relationship with Tenzin was more intimate, with him being involved with her on the daily with politics and completing her training, Lin’s was more strained, more of an inconvenience than anything else. Where Lin’s duty was solely to ensure Republic City was free of crime, Korra’s responsibility to the City was slightly minuscule in comparison to everything else she had to juggle at such a tender age. 

But Korra supposed that that was in the past.

She doesn’t quite remember when the relationship began to shift, but if she had to make a good guess, it would have to be when Korra restored Lin’s bending abilities. 

They had grown to appreciate and even like each other after that day, with the both of them initially keeping their respectable distance towards each other, but that soon shifted to them both having to get more and more involved with the ugly side of life rearing their heads to them. She had grown bothered by that, but Lin treated her like a young adult who just happened to be the avatar, rather than being treated as the avatar who also happened to be a young adult. When she expressed her personal needs that were outside of avatar duties, Lin just happened to be one of those who helped her understand what she was going through. Tenzin tried his best, as did Pema, but Pema had four kids to raise, and some things Korra went through, he, as a man, would possibly never understand.

Lin just did. 

_ “What’s on your mind? You’re off your game.” Lin found her near one of the cliffs and sat beside her to enjoy the air like Korra was doing.  _

_ It was a brisk spring day, and Korra was grateful for the winds as it helped take her mind off things and cool her down. _

_ “You were watching?” Korra shifted slightly, holding back a sigh as she did so. She could barely remember how training was, she had relied solely on muscle memory to help. _

_ “Bits and pieces when the conversation got boring.” _

_ Korra hummed in response, watching a bird soar across the sky, disappearing into the sun before reemerging. She wanted to soar like that. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to. She turned to look at Lin, only to find herself staring at her profile, all hard angles, and pale skin, blush rose lips plump above the defining sharp Beifong chin. “Can I tell you something?” _

_ “As long as it’s not illegal.” _

_ “It’s not. I hope. Can you promise not to tell anyone else?” _

_ Lin looked at her briefly before returning her sights to the city on the other side of the bay.  _

_ “I’ve been having these... _ feelings _ , and I don’t know what to do to get rid of them.” _

_ “Korra. I’m afraid you’re going to have to be blunter about what you’re trying to say.” _

_ “I’m-” she sighed, inhaling and letting it out in one fell swoop “-I’ve been so needy for sex lately and the urges are driving me insane.” _

_ “And you seriously don’t know what to do about that?”  _

_ Korra watched Lin’s facial expression after letting her question hang in the air, and let herself breathe regularly again when she saw that the stoic-ness hadn’t left. She did flinch slightly, however, when Lin relaxed back, letting her arms support her upper body. _

_ “When I was growing up, trying to impress my mother and trying to show those chumps at the academy that whatever they could do, I could do better, I neglected a lot of my needs. I’d find so many people attractive, and I’d find myself achy for them, getting so hot I could barely breathe in my uniform most days.” Lin took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Her lips formed a tiny o shape that Korra focused intently on. “Tenzin was a nice fit for me I guess, we knew each other and when we got together, we were at a time where we could tell each other everything. My point being is,” Lin turned to Korra then, shocking her with how her dark green eyes seemed to have grown impossibly darker, “find what you like doing to yourself and  _ do it _. There are just some things you shouldn’t leave for anyone else to do for you.” _

_ The next day, Korra was so spent, she had to call out of training claiming exhaustion and shocking Tenzin. _

That had been the precursor to Korra telling most if not all her dirty secrets to Lin, with Lin sharing some of her own. There had been days where all she could focus on was Lin telling her to do it, to figure it out and she did. Always with Lin in mind. 

And now here she sat, one more time, with Lin with the grown-ups and she in her room trying to breathe before going to face Kuvira. Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking since she announced to the makeshift council that she was going with her team, and no matter what good thoughts she ran through her mind, her hands refused to stop their shaking. She sat on them, but all it seemed to do was bring to attention that her heart was pounding at a rate that was threatening competition with the shakiness.

Another mental battle she now had to fight to win. 

Korra decided to lie back, her arms behind her head, and as she bent her leg upwards, the fabric of her pants and panties brushed against her clit and she groaned into the nearly darkened room. She blushed fiercely, though she had no reason to, there was no else but her. 

She thought back to when was the last time she had touched herself, and seemed to draw a blank until she remembered it had been a week before she left the south pole to return to Republic City before heading off to find herself, or run away from herself. 

She shook those memories and began to replace them.

She closed her eyes and breathed slow and evenly, procuring the few times she had been with Lin and what happened between them in the whispers of the night, how they would moan and grind, trying desperately to contain the noises they made. She remembered fondly the time she spent in Zaofu.

_ She was upset with Lin having never thought of her to be the type to snap at an innocent bystander of a tragedy they had no control over. She ensured Opal was released back to her mother safely and bid them goodnight, apologizing in part for how Lin had been and for being the one responsible for bringing Opal to her cranky aunt. _

_ She couldn't stomp fast enough to Lin's door, almost kicking it clean off its hinges. "What's the matter with you?!" With a gust a wind she barely registered had flown from her fingertips, she slammed the door shut.  _

_ "This doesn't concern you Korra, now get out!" Lin yelled back, rising from her chair so quickly the newspaper she left resting on the table flew off and drifted to the floor, Lin stomping on it on her way to the room.  _

_ Korra was quickly behind her. _

_ But she wasn't quick enough and her nose was mushed to her face when she walked into the door just as Lin had slammed it shut. "Ugh." She groaned, upset she wasn't a professional metal bender yet. She sat down and got into her meditation position, though kept her ears open and sensitive to any noise Lin might have made in the room.  _

_ Minutes passed before she heard rustling. She turned her head, pressing her ear against it and putting her palm on the cool metal. "Lin?"  _

_ "What do you want,  _ Avatar _?" _

_ "Lin,  _ please _." _

_ She heard a groan before the lock turned and the door opened, Lin sitting on the bed. Korra joined her, sitting beside her before sitting behind her to rub her shoulders, warming her hands to do so.  _

_ She heard Lin sniffle and her heart ached to hear her. "Lin-" _

_ "Korra, no. I-I just don't want to think. Please. Either help me or go away." _

_ It was admittedly not the first time the two had gone down that path, and it was one, irregardless of the circumstances, that never made her uncomfortable or uneasy, but this time was different. This time, Lin was hurt in a way that Korra couldn't fix or heal.  _

Korra remembered that night as the first time they were gentle and slow with each other, a mutual understanding that they just needed to be tender and feel cared for. Her heart broke when she had to watch Lin and Suyin have a fight in order to understand the world of hurt Lin was in, but at the end of the day, it’s not like she would’ve been able to understand. 

Her hand grazed lightly across her pubic bone and she lifted it to wiggle her hand inside them, her hand now inside her pants but not yet inside her panties, not yet inside  _ her. _ She sighed as she pressed a finger against her clit, almost surprised it was so readily responsive. She breathed deeply and evenly as she carefully caressed her clit, figuring there was time for at least one drawn out orgasm. Her hand immediately shot out from her pants and rested on her stomach when she heard a knock at the door, groaning internally that someone decided just then they needed her. 

“Yeah?” 

The door opened and in walked Lin, Korra wasn’t able to see her from how dark the room had grown, but Lin’s metal suit always made an unmistakable noise whenever she walked. She closed the door behind her and stood a few feet away from the bed. “Can you-” 

Lin didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Korra flipped her hand over to ignite a small flame, allowing the other woman to walk to the bed in confident strides. 

“Thanks.” She said softly. 

Korra let the light flicker for a brief second more before letting it smoke out and she replaced her hand palm side down on her stomach. She ingrained her side profile into her memory for what felt like the last time. She reinforced in her memory that sharp cheekbone that stayed above an even sharper jawline, forever outlining the hidden strength of her jaw. Her lips, deceptively soft and lush rested in its usual downturned fashion, her tinted lipstick having worn off for the day yet leaving behind the softest hint of dark pink. Her eyes, oh, her eyes, small pools of gentle greens when Lin was relaxed, hard throughout the day and these days, most nights, but with Korra, since she came back, Lin’s eyes have remained in a constant soft state. 

Her hair, with all its bounce and pristine look, was runner up in defective softness.

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. 

"Remember our first time?"

Korra gave a little chuckle, "right after I got kicked out of Republic City?"

Lin gave a chuckle in return. "Yeah. Believe it or not, I was so nervous for you. I didn't know what would become of us, become of  _ yo _ u while you were gone."

"And that's you now, huh?"

Lin didn't give an answer, though she shed her uniform off as quietly as one could shed a full metal uniform and stood up from the bed, stretching her hand out to Korra. Korra sat up, took it, and let Lin pull her into a hug. 

"Lin, what are you-"

"I just want to hold you, if that’s okay."

“It’s okay” Korra breathed out and relaxed into the intense warmth of the hug, pulling Lin in seemingly impossibly closer. Every time they shared a moment like this, it always astonished Korra how unbelievably  _ warm _ Lin was compared to her cold exterior. Of course, she and the members of her team have all had light moments with Lin, but they felt like a gust of hot breath compared to just how close to burning hot Lin was. A part of her wondered if Lin was supposed to be a fire bender. 

She was the one who broke the embrace first. 

“Come.” She sat on the bed and patted the space next to her, giving a small smile when Lin complied. “So is this the part where I start telling you my deepest feelings for you in case I don’t return after tonight?”

“It can be, if that’s how you think it’s going to be.”

“I-” Korra looked down at her hands. She didn’t know the answer. When she first met Lin, before she felt what she feels now, before she knew what she knows now, she had a definitive answer for  _ everything _ .  _ Yes _ she was the Avatar,  _ yes _ she was going to save everyone,  _ yes _ she was going to fix everything,  _ yes _ she could defeat anyone. 

But after everything-

After her first fight with Kuvira-

Lins’s hand slipped seamlessly in between hers and again she felt that sense of bewilderment of how warm and smooth Lin’s hands were. “Hey.” Lin softly said, tilting Korra’s head so their eyes could meet. “It’s not- don’t think that- how about we just lay down?” 

Korra nodded in response and silently watched Lin shimmy into a comfortable position before she laid down in her arms, her back resting against Lins’s front, a pillow on Lin’s outstretched arm so Korra’s head didn’t cause it to fall asleep and make her uncomfortable. 

Minutes passed so slowly yet so softly, so calmly, and she didn’t know who’s breathing was matching who’s, but she knew she felt safe and warmed and appreciated and loved and  _ wanted _ . She knew she felt wanted not because of what she could give, what she could do, but solely because of who she is, solely because she existed. And it felt- 

“Why are you crying?”

“I-I’m sorry, I-” Korra began to get up to wipe her face until Lin gently pushed her back down, and she shuffled so she didn’t have to feel the wet spot on the pillow “I guess I just got overwhelmed, I-”

Lin pushed her hair back and kissed her temple, gently, and sweetly caressed her jaw, reminded her wordlessly that she was and will remain,  _ okay _ .

“Rest now, I know you’re strong enough for this,” Lin said, her breath carrying her words to float above Korra’s ears and around her soul, her spirit, her entire being. 

And rest she did.

And when she woke, her heart felt empty when she saw Lin and her uniform gone, only to feel hopeful when Bolin  _ loudly _ asked who’s lipstick stain was on her cheek.

She’s convinced her blush matched the tainted lipstick mark on her cheek.


End file.
